Energy at the Grassroots: The Business Resource Groups are making a difference!
by Anjali Reddy, Director, Internal Communications
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the U.S. because of two important events: the first Japanese immigrants arrived in the U.S. America on May 7, 1843 and the transcontinental railroad, built by many Chinese laborers, was completed on May 10, 1869.
At a celebration on May 8in Lake Forest, Grainger’s Asian Pacific Islander (API) BRG highlighted the API culture and heard from senior leaders, including Mike Pulick, SVP and President, Grainger International; Laura Brown, SVP, Communications and Investor Relations and Executive Sponsor of the API BRG; and Joseph High, SVP and Chief People Officer. Doe Kittay, Vice President, Customer Service and President, API BRG, hosted the event and highlighted the BRG’s mission and wins. The event was webcast to team members across the US and Acklands-Grainger (AGI).
“It was great to see the importance our leaders place on inclusion and what it means for us as a global company,” said Jigisha Bhatt, Program Manager, GIS Brand, Inventory Management.
“All the BRGs provide team members with leadership opportunities and help foster professional growth and multi-cultural understanding,” said Jaqui Robertson, Senior Director, Inclusion and Diversity. “While they were launched in the U.S., we are committed to understanding what makes sense for international teams as well.”
The BRG’s have certainly been active and many efforts are focused on team member development.
The Generational BRG (GBRG) recently hosted an Individual Development Planning (IDP) workshop. “The company is increasingly focused on Talent Excellence and having an IDP can help drive professional and personal growth,” says Al Johnson, Inventory Management Brand Strategy Manager and President, GBRG. “While IDP conversations are taking place between managers and their teams, the BRGs offer another venue for learning about them with peers.” The GBRG is targeting 500 participants this year.

Swami Viveknanda had said that religion is a spiritual science. Many contemporary gurus, swamis, pujaris and priests are not able to explain the concept of spiritual science. But most of them agree that the Vedas are the supreme scriptures of Hindus. The Bhagavad-Gita mentions that study of Vedas is the highest virtue. Adi Granth Sahib says Asankh grantha mukhi Vedpatha. There are innumerable scriptures but Vedic study is the supreme.

Sad-Darshana (six schools of Indian philosophy), based on Vedic metaphysics and Vedic Ishta theory-paths, aim at welfare of mankind. They have made it amply clear that to know the concept of religion as spiritual science, the study of the Vedas is essential. To avoid spread of pious forgeries in the society, Swami Dayananda had suggested study and propagation of Vedic knowledge for the Aryans (noble people).

After the study of the Vedas through English translation of mantras, riks, hymns and even some verses, it was apparent the religion as spiritual science is dharma and it is an institution of social, moral, ethical and spiritual uplift of mankind. It is based on certain principles of spiritual science relating to Rta (cosmic laws of Nature), ideal mosaic society where people follow four divine professions (chatvar varnas) allotted through the Vedic education system based on merit, ability and aptitude and certainly not by birth.

The concept of guru — Gu means darkness and Ru means to dispel — dispeller of inner and outer darkness as a preceptor, the cosmic delusion (maya), the difference between soul, manifested soul, spirit and their respective roles, prakrti (divine Nature), the ineffable and formless Supreme Reality Brahman, the cosmic word “Om” (Shabd Brahma) cause of origin of the universe, physical sciences and scientific temper and many other subjects and concepts have been explained in the context of dharma as spiritual science.

In the social aspect of dharma, the Vedas refer to healthy community life through sabha and vidhta, local self-governance, iddm nan mmam — enlightened liberalism (nothing for self all for society), etc.

With regard to the moral aspect hydra-headed corruption with nine heads and 99 sources of entry in the human body is mentioned and solution thereof to eliminate corruption.

On the ethical aspect of dharma, trivarga (three kinds of value systems are explained) and as regard spiritual side of dharma harmonized divine, spiritual and material knowledge (para jnan) is explained in great details.

After study of the Vedas, I wrote Glimpses of Vedic Metaphysics as a part of Vedic spiritual science. Hence the book is by a commoner for the common human beings and seekers of Vedic knowledge, who may not have time to study over 17,000 mantras/riks in all the four Vedas, but are keen to know what these shrutis contain. The Atharva Veda clearly mentions when soul was provided to the human beings, the Vedas were revealed (hence shrutis).

Thus the Vedas became omniform for all periods of time. The study of the Vedas can save simple, honest and God-loving people from the pious forgeries of “leaders of hope” like miracles, breaking unity into diversity of cults/sects or even declaring Veda mantras have secret divine power.

Instead of publishing the book and commercially pricing it, I opted for putting it on the Internet for online reading and even taking print at no cost. It is available on http://www.sabhlokcity.com/metaphysics. The book can be accessed through google.com, yahoo.com, lulu.com search for the book or just Vedic Metaphysics.

This just came across my desk and I agree with content and message and behind the ugly face truth of Sonia Gandhi and her foreign hidden agenda to kill ancient Hindu knowledge of Aayurveda and Medicine.

Narendra modI can send Man Mohan Singh and his cabinet to jail at any time

BHAGAVAD Gita the eternal text has been explored and re-interpreted by men since it was originally penned by the great sage Vyasa. Each one has found his/her own meanings and answers from the Gita to quests and queries on life and beyond.

The Bhagavadgita in the Nationalist Discourse by Nagappa Gowda K. has analysed the contemporary understanding of Gita by leaders in 19th- 20th century. Six men have been selected who wrote dissertations on or referred extensively to Gita. They are Bankimchandra Chatterjee, Balgangadhar Tilak, Swami Vivekananda, Aurobindo Ghose, Mahatma Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave and BR Ambedkar. These are all men who influenced the course of the nation — some politically, some spiritually. “The nationalist engagement with the Gita was both emotional and intellectual, since nationalism expressed itself, whether sui generis or as a response-product of engagement with colonialism, at those levels. Locating the source of nationalism in the Gita was a way of rejecting the Western claim that nationalist impulse and ideology were its exclusive gift” says Gowda.

While Bankimchandra saw the Gita as a call for action, for Tilak, as revealed in Gita Rahasya, the appeal was the notion of sthitaprajna, the rejection of sanyasa and a direction for active engagement with life. For Aurobindo, who turned into sage after rejecting active political life, Gita was a text of supreme spirituality, demanding nothing less than total surrender. Gandhi on other hand found in Gita “supreme endorsement of the notions such as non-violence, Swadeshi, Svadharma and Satyagraha.”

interpreted Gita as an embodiment of national culture in true sense. Vinoba Bhave found svadharma as the central theme of Gita. Ambedkar saw Gita in a very different light. He thought it was a text that was trying to revive and justify “the Old Order with a new set of arguments as emanating from the mouth of God.”

Nagappa Gowda says that the Gita came back as a much discussed text of Hinduism because of the interest shown by the westerners in it. According to him, the Europeans, triggered by their eagerness to explore the Indian culture and religion sought out the “native informants.” “The native informants were the Brahmins – a small, literate monopoly class in the country, who thus became the sole spokespersons of religion. Brahmanical religion became the Hindu religion, and Brahmanical texts became the official Hindu texts.

Of them Shree Krishna and his Song Celestial seemed to merit the Semitic notion of a revealed religion… Thus, in the eighteenth century, we see both the orientalist and missionary discourses nudging the Bhagavadgita and its author to the centrestage of attention and engagement.”

Tilak used Gita in the political context. He exalts an all-India-Hinduism, playing down the differences of sect and caste. For Vivekananda the message is beyond India, in a world canvas and it is apolitical. He regards the truth in Gita as universal and not historical, says Gowda adding nishkam karma was the essence of the monk’s message from Gita.

Sri Aurobindo has written extensively on Gita. He wrote 24 essays on the first six chapters, twelve essays on the next six chapters and twelve on the remaining six. The first six chapters, he felt dealt with the notion of karma and its relation with jnana.

Gandhi delivered 218 lectures on the Gita at the Satyagraha Ashram, Ahmedabad over a period of nine months in 1926. He was introduced to the Gita by Edwin Arnold, to an English translation called Song Celestial, when he was twenty years old.

He said, “Only he can interpret the Gita correctly who tries to follow its teaching in practice…it may be a profound one, but in my view the realisation of its profound quality depends on the depth of one’s sincerity in putting its teaching into practice.”

Ambedkar on the other hand saw it as a reiteration of the caste system. The reviving debate on it he said was an attempt at ‘replying’ to the Buddhist preaching, by re-establishing the ‘relevance’ of the caste categorisation. After reading the views on others on the Gita, reading Ambedkar’s gives a feeling of ‘let down.’

One wonders if there was any relevance for his inclusion into this book. For, Ambedkar takes a limited, narrow and constrained attitude towards the text that is widely seen as enlightening, egalitarian and ennobling.

Nagappa Gowda says that the reason why Gita gelled well in the nationalist discourse is that it laid great stress on karma yoga and “undermined the asceticism of the Upanisadic persuasion and emotionalism and devotionalism of the bhakti persuasion.” And also it was seen as upholding a deep commitment to equality.

Gita has been a text of all times. From Adi Shankara, even before him and down the generations men have delved into this changeless doctrine and applied it and explained it as it revealed itself to them.

It has an appeal that has transcended time and space. Nagappa Gowda by contextualising the Gita on the matrix of national movement has given a new perspective worth pursuing. Gowda is Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Government Women’s First Grade College and Post Graduate Centre, Ajjarakadu, Udupi.

IF THIS IS TRUE, NOW YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO ALL THE MONEY COLLECTED BY TEMPLES IN INDIA. SURPRISINGLY, A FOREIGNER OPENS OUR EYES!!! Believe or not, a Foreign writer opens our eyes… The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Act of 1951 allows State Governments and politicians to take over thousands of Hindu Temples and maintain complete control of the money in any way they choose.

A charge has been made not by any Temple authority, but by a foreign writer, Stephen Knapp, in a book Crimes Against India and the Need to Protect Ancient Vedic Tradition, published in the United States that makes shocking reading. Hundreds of temples in centuries past have been built in India by devout rulers and the donations given to them by devotees have been used for the benefit of the (other) people. If, presently, money collected has ever been misused (and that word needs to be defined), it is for the devotees to protest and not for any government to interfere.

This letter is what has been happening currently under an intrusive law. It would seem, for instance, that under a Temple Empowerment Act, about 43,000 temples in Andhra Pradesh have come under government control and only 18 per cent of the revenues of these temples have been returned for temple purposes, the remaining 82 per cent being used for purposes unstated. Apparently even the world famous Tirumala Tirupati Temple has not been spared.

According to Knapp, the temple collects over Rs 3,100 crores every year and the State Government has not denied the charge that as much as 85 per cent of this is transferred to the State Exchequer, much of which goes to causes that are not connected with the Hindu community. Was it for that reason that devotees make their offering to the temples?

Another charge that has been made is that the Andhra Government has also allowed the demolition of at least ten temples for the construction of golf courses. Imagine the outcry, writes Knapp, if ten mosques had been demolished. It would seem that in Karanataka, Rs. 79 crores were collected from about two lakh temples and from that, temples received Rs seven crores for their maintenance, Muslim madrassahs and Haj subsidy were given Rs 59 crore and churches about Rs 13 crore.

Very generous of the government! Because of this, Knapp writes, 25 per cent of the two lakh temples or about 50,000 temples in Karnataka will be closed down for lack of resources, and he adds: The only way the government can continue to do this is because people have not stood up enough to stop it. Knapp then refers to Kerala where, he says, funds from the Guruvayur Temple are diverted to other government projects denying improvement to 45 Hindu temples. Land belonging to the Ayyappa Temple, apparently has been grabbed and Church encroaches are occupying huge areas of forest land, running into thousands of acres, near Sabarimala.

A charge is made that the Communist state government of Kerala wants to pass an Ordinance to disband the Travancore & Cochin Autonomous Devaswom Boards (TCDBs) and take over their limited independent authority of 1,800 Hindu temples. If what the author says is true, even the Maharashtra Government wants to take over some 450,000 temples in the state which would supply a huge amount of revenue to correct the states bankrupt conditions.

And, to top it all, Knapp says that in Orissa, the state government intends to sell over 70,000 acres of endowment lands from the Jagannath Temple, the proceeds of which would solve a huge financial crunch brought about by its own mismanagement of temple assets. Says Knapp: Why such occurrences are so often not known is that the Indian media, especially the English television and press, are often anti-Hindu in their approach, and, thus, not inclined to give much coverage, and certainly no sympathy, for anything that may affect the Hindu community. Therefore, such government actions that play against the Hindu community go on without much or any attention attracted to them. Knapp obviously is on record.

If the facts produced by him are incorrect, it is up to the government to say so. It is quite possible that some individuals might have set up temples to deal with lucrative earnings. But, that, surely, is none of the governments’ business? Instead of taking over all earnings, the government surely can appoint local committees to look into temple affairs so that the amount discovered is fairly used for the public good? Says Knapp: Nowhere in the free, democratic world are the religious institutions managed, maligned and controlled by the government, thus denying the religious freedom of the people of the country. But it is happening in India.

Government officials have taken control of Hindu temples because they smell money in them, they recognise the indifference of Hindus, they are aware of the unlimited patience and tolerance of Hindus, they also know that it is not in the blood of Hindus to go to the streets to demonstrate, destroy property, threaten, loot, harm and/or kill. Many Hindus are sitting and watching the demise of their culture.

They need to express their views loud and clear. Knapp obviously does not know that should they do so, they would be damned as communalists. But, it is time someone asked the Government to lay down all the facts on the table so that the public would know what is happening behind its back. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is not secularism. And temples are not for looting, under any name. One thought ….. that Mohammad of Ghazni has long been dead?????

” Unlike, say, Switzerland, India isn’t rolling in wealth. Even as we trip GDP figures off our tongue, a country is deemed wealthy not when it has plenty of rich people but when it has no one mired in poverty. Tough scenario for a country for a billion-plus people but with India home to enough

folks not getting a square meal a day, there is something awry about a temple in Kerala sitting on a treasure trove supposedly worth ‘Rs 1 lakh crore’ — that is Rs 1,000,000,000,000. Oh, we know the sanctity of the right to own your wealth and spend it (or not) in whatever manner you choose.

But the Sri Padmanabha Swami temple in Kerala, now unofficially considered the richest temple in the country, isn’t exactly just a fixed deposit that will take care of a family’s Bugatti bills, or even the local mandir or gurdwara providing succour to souls with a cash flow on the side.

In fact, such temples are gargantuan vaults of tax-free wealth. So how about dismantling what are essentially parallel economies by opening these vaults up and use the money to set up private schemes that can bring material comforts to the poor?

Sure, many of these religious institutions have social sch-emes already running. But clearly, much more needs to be done.

If the incentive for such a move is lacking from the trusts of these temples or mosques, why not consider taxing these institutions?

The purpose of taxing people much less wealthy than those who own the wealth of the Padmanabha Swami temple is to bring about some amount of redistribution of wealth through building public facilities such as roads and power stations.

With the temples having enough money to spare, surely being a charitable body won’t make them stingy about spreading the cash for public good?

Especially, since they should be happy to share their wealth in good faith for the purpose of making India a truly rich country.”

With views like these, there is no need of ghoris and Gaznis to break temples and loot when such people with such anti Hindu views are present in Hindusthan

Go after Muslim and Christian first who stole all the land and wealth from native Hindu and then talk about sharing Hindu wealth. Period no if no but and nothing less.

Why are people always after the temples and not after anyother worship places? you are speaking of taking the money from the temple and using it for public good……one fact that you have forgotten my friend is that the so called politicians of this country has more wealth than the worship places,.

The money that people paid as tax for the betterment of the country,was robbed by them and kept in forgein banks,don’t you have the guts to ask them to give it back.

They enter politics as just an average citizen,they go to their graveyard as millioners,leaving back millions for their decendents to live in lavishness………This money belongs to the God……it was donated by humble beleivers,

As a note of thanks giving…….it should stay in the temple,as temple property.

One thing forgotten,its not containers of hard currency which is found,its valuables worth crores,how are you going to use it?

Pave the roads with gold and diamonds?give one diamond to each person?one coin to each person?Sell the valuables?????????

It should be protected,try to generate a revenue from it,by building a museum inside the temple premises for the public to see the heritage,the forgotten era, and a minimal charge taken from them,the revenue of the temple is to increase now as devotees would be flowing in….and that money can be used in public interest.If we oblige to give away the treasure to the benefit of the country,

you would say the Idol is worth crores of rupees,lets sell it for the country……wont you?????

The MAHARAJA who saved this treasure from british rulers should be awarded by the best award(which is given after death) of our country. he was a REAL KING AND REAL DESHBHAKTA.Related articlesSri Padmanabha Swami temple (santoshbhatt.wordpress.com)$10 billion in treasure found at Hindu temple in India (windsorstar.com)Treasure trove spurs debate in southern India (ctv.ca)

Yantra (यन्त्र) is the Sanskrit word for “instrument” or “machine”. Much like the word “instrument” itself, it can stand for symbols.Yantra function as revelatory conduits of cosmic truths. Yantra, as instrument and spiritual technology,it is prototypical and esoteric concept mapping machines or conceptual looms. Certain yantra are he……ld to embody the energetic signatures of, for example, the Universe, consciousness, ishta-devata. Mantras, the Sanskrit syllables inscribed on yantras, are essentially “thought forms” representing divinities or cosmic powers, which exert their influence by means of sound-vibrations.

Symbols employed in yantrasShapes and patterns commonly employed in yantra include squares, triangles, circles and floral patterns but may also include more complex and detailed symbols, for instance:

The lotus flower typically represent chakras, with each petal representing a psychic propensity (or vritti) associated with that chakraA dot, or bindu, represents the starting point of creation or the infinite, unexpressed cosmosThe şaţkoņa (Sanskrit name for a symbol identical to the star of David) composed of a balance between: An upwards triangle denoting action (or service), extroversion, masculinity or ShivaA downwards triangle denoting introversion, meditativeness, goddess energy or Shakti

Geometric element meanings:

Circle = Energy of the element waterSquare = Energy of the element earthTriangle = Energy of the element fireDiagonal lines = Energy of the element airHorizontal line = Energy of the element waterVertical line = Energy of the element firePoint = Energy of the element ether

As an astrological deviceYantra may be used to represent the astronomical position of the planets over a given date and time. It is considered auspicious in Hindu{SanatanDharm} mythology. These yantras are made up on various objects i.e. Paper, Precious stones, Metal Plates and alloys. It is believed that constantly concentrating on the representation helps to build fortunes, as planets have their peculiar gravity which governs basic emotions and karma. These yantras are often made on a particular date and time according to procedures defined in the vedas.